Limpopo pig farmer, Zachariah Johannes Olivier, farm supervisor Andrian Rudolph De Wet, and farm employee William Musora on Wednesday appeared before the Polokwane Regional Court, where they were all remanded behind bars.
The bail application did not happen as expected and the Polokwane Regional Court cited a pending decision on an application made by the accused men to the High Court in Polokwane.
Polokwane Regional Court Magistrate Ntilane Felleng referred the trio’s bail application to the Mankweng Magistrate’s Court.
Limpopo spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Mashudu Malabi-Dzangi said the matter was postponed to November 6.
“The trio — accused of killing two women, throwing their bodies into pigsty — remain in custody for now, as the matter has been postponed to November 6, 2024 in Mankweng Magistrate’s Court pending appeal outcome,” said Malabi-Dzangi.
“The appeal will determine whether the accused will get their statements for purposes of bail application. The matter was postponed for further investigations.”
It is alleged that the three men fatally shot 47-year-old Mariah Makgato and 34-year-old Kudzai Lucia Ndlovu and wounded Ndlovu's husband Mabutho Ncube who had entered Onvervaght farm to collect expired goods dumped by a commercial truck.
The two women died on the farm while Ncube managed to escape.
The man who survived the deadly Limpopo shooting has recounted the harrowing experience when he escaped for dear life, leaving his wife and Makgato on the scene.
“The first shot was fired into the air. The second bullet hit me, third bullet hit the other woman who was with us (Makgato) and the fourth bullet hit my wife. I went down, and after a while, I went to check on my wife to see if she was alive,” said Ncube after being discharged from hospital.
He said he tried to lift and assist his wife, Ndlovu, but he could not do much as he had been shot as well.
The injured man struggled to get to the main road to seek assistance and he was later assisted by an associate, who took him to the police station.
At the police station, an ambulance was called and Ncube was taken to hospital. He said while travelling to hospital, he noticed that his intestines were flowing from his stomach.
“When I was in the ambulance going to the hospital, they took off the T-shirt I was wearing. I had blood flowing out of my stomach and when I checked, it was flesh flowing from my abdomen. At hospital, they said they were taking me to theatre,” he said.
While in hospital, he heard that police and emergency services had visited the farm but they did not find the women who were shot.
“After four to five days, while I was still in hospital, I then heard that the two women’s bodies had been found in the pigsty. I did not expect that to happen. All this time, I thought my wife was in the women’s ward in the hospital. That hurt me so much,” said Ncube.
The third accused man in the case, Musora faces a further charge of contravening the Immigration Act.
During the previous bail application hearing, Olivier's legal team requested access to his warning statement, while De Wet sought access to the contents of the case docket.
"The State opposed these applications, asserting that the accused were not entitled to the information for bail purposes. Consequently, the State noted an appeal against the ruling made by Magistrate Arshad Chaya regarding Olivier's application for access,” Malabi-Dzhangi said previously.
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